Hazardous

Sorry, no new sprites to show off just yet. It's been a while since the last post and that's mostly due to distractions on other fronts; biggest of all is that I finally got myself a new day job! Woo.

So, yeah...

I've been mulling game mechanics over in my head and decided to just say "screw it" to the stat system and just take a much simpler 'Mario' approach to it, where the player gets up to 2 hits and that's it. There will be recovery items dotted around the levels, but like 'Super Mario, there will also be 1-shot killers (lava, acid, water. stabbing/impaling, crushing hazards, as well as larger or more dangerous enemies).

I've been compiling a list of obstacles, hazards, and other environment features I'll be working on in the near future. This will serve as a bit of a checklist for later work:

& denotes *guaranteed* insta-death

Passive Environmental Hazards:

& Falling rocks/other, turning gears, closing doors (crusher)
& Stagnant water pools (quickly chewed up and eaten by hidden critters or insects depending on area. individual animations for both))
Water (drown if under for too long.)
& Quicksand (stuck. sink + drown)
& Tarpit (see quicksand.)
& Swamp sludge/acid pools (sink and dissolved/burned)
& Lava flows and pools (sink and burn)
& Spikes (hanging, clinging to sides, or pits with relevant impaling)
Fall damage (fall+damage or fall+collapse dead depending on health state; OR splatter if fall is from high enough)

Active or Triggered Environmental Hazards:

Arrows/spines/other projectiles (shot from various sources, 2-shot kill)
Swinging blades (slices player in half across the middle. emerge from wall or swing from above/below. some decapitate. most are avoidable in one way or another. instant death when hit)
& Explosive (various types. some dismember while others utterly destroy character. bite-sized bits everywhere!)
Trap door (depends on what's on the other side. will lead to hidden areas just as often as dangers)
Sinking or crumbling platforms (most common will be fall-damage, unless something worse is below)
& Rising/Falling spikes (fall from ceiling or rise up when trigger is stepped on. avoidable)

Passive Living Dangers (will not actively hunt you down, but will strike when within range)

& Flesh-eating mushroom
& Exploding mushroom
& Flesh-eating flower (springing from ground, folding over and tearing player apart with teeth on inside of petals)
& Insect pits or dens (stepping in/on will result in a wave of insects washing over and devouring the player)
Bats (don't like being disturbed. they'll dive-bomb you if you come too close. can often be avoided, as they will fly over you.)
& Health Item mimic (mushroom growing out of a log appears similar to healing item, but recognizably different in close comparison. when trying to pick it, will grab character and devour head-first)

Active Hostile Enemies (will actively try to strike, chase, or otherwise cause harm)


Flesh-eating bell plant (lunges, similar to piranha plant or Deku Baba. kills and eats, head-first, on second strike)
Giant insects (ants, beetles, centipedes, mantis, wasps. watch out for their pincers and stingers!)
Big cats (these guys are hungry and you look kinda tasty)
Hostile natives / living skeletons (varied attacks from poison darts to bladed weapons, which may decapitate or eviscerate causing insta-death. Animation will be unique and recognizable for these.)
Poison frogs
Giant lizards (2-3 types. One breathes fire, another spits acid, all chase down and chomp/devour)
Normal-sized wasps/bees (poisonous stings. will overwhelm and cover player while stinging to death, then leave. avoidable when jumping into water.)
& Giant scorpion (mini-boss type. one strike of tail impales player through the chest. pincers chop in half or cut off a limb, causing fatal bleeding)
& Frogs  (sticky tongue strikes player and pulls in.)
& frog-like plants (barbed 'tongue' strikes player and pulls in, closing around and gnashing 'teeth' grind player as it swallows. similar to Half-Life barnacle.)




will probably add more, later.